NORFOLK, VA-- Old Dominion University Head Baseball Coach Chris Finwood announced the signing of eight recruits today to national letters of intent. The class consists of five high school players and three junior college transfers.

“We are fired up about this early signing class,” said Finwood. “I want to thank our assistants Karl Nonemaker and Tim LaVigne for all their hard work developing the relationships with these young men and their families. We really feel like we met our needs in terms of speed, lefty-righty balance at the plate, and lefty-righty balance on the mound. We also got position guys that can play in the middle of the field which is always important. With three kids from Hampton Roads, we continued our hard work in this great baseball area and we were also able to use our contacts throughout the country to land some outstanding players from other time zones. We have a large class of seniors this year so these signees will be expected to compete right away."

Below is more information on the signing class:

Thomas Busbice- A RHP from Iowa Western CC in Council Bluffs, IA. Thomas struck out 15 hitters in 16 innings for IWCC’s 2013 campaign where they went 46-14 and made it to the district tournament. He graduated from Papillion High School in Papillion, NE in 2012 and led the state in ERA with a .83 the summer after his senior year.

Matt Cogen- Matt is a 6’1 185 pound outfielder from Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, TN. He bats Left and throws Right. Matt helped BGA win a state championship in 2012 and missed the majority of 2013 with a broken collarbone. He plays for the prestigious Nashville Knights National Team. Hit .392 with 6 doubles and 7 triples this summer. Matt is ranked a Top 50 prospect in Tennessee according to both Top Ten Baseball and Perfect Game.

Justin Hayes- Justin is a 5’8” Left/Left Centerfielder from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake. He hit .425 and stole 15 bases his junior season in the lead-off spot for the Bruins. In 2013, He was a first team All-Southeastern District selection and also made the All-Region team.

Jared Koenig- Jared is a 6’5” LHP from Aptos, California. He went 7-1 in 48 innings of work for Central Arizona as a freshman. Jared Graduated from Aptos High School where he went 9-3 both his junior and senior seasons. He was the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League pitcher of the year as a junior. He was a SCCAL first team selection as a senior.

Nate Matheson- a 6’2 200 pound Left-handed pitcher from Kecoughtan High School in Hampton. Nate has been a 3-year letterman in baseball and has started at both pitcher and 1B since his freshman year. On the mound, Nate is 13-5 in the last two seasons with 139 Ks in 112 innings pitched. His ERA has been under 2 the last two seasons as well. He has been a 2nd team All-Peninsula District performer all three years of High School.

Jason McMurray- Jason is a short stop for Coach Marc Rardin at Iowa Western Council Bluffs, IA. Jason spent his first two years of college at Notre Dame. At Notre Dame (2012) he started 24 games at shortstop and appeared in 29. He hit .323 in Big East Conference play. In 2013, he redshirted due to a broken hand. This past summer, Jason played with the Derby Twins of the Jayhawk League and hit .313 (42 for 134). He led the league in doubles with 21 and stole 17 base. He was named by Perfectgame.org as the 7th overall prospect in the league, and also the best defensive player.

Jason graduated from Dowling Catholic HS and was an All-Conference Shortstop for 4 years and an All-State Shortstop 2 year while leading the team to three consecutive conference and district titles. Was ranked the Perfect game #1 player in the state of Iowa in high school. He also was an all-State safety for State Champion football team.

Devon Perez- Devon is a 6’5” RHP from Stone Bridge HS in Ashburn, VA. Devon had 66 K’s in 42 Innings pitched his junior year and finished the season with a 1.4 ERA. He has allowed 16 runs in 55 innings pitched so far in high school. Devon had a very good summer with the DeMarini Stars Summer Program.

Zach Rutherford- Rutherford has been a main stay in Coach Roland Wright’s Western Branch line up for the past two years where he has started games mostly in the infield and at pitcher. He hit .408 with 4 home runs, 29 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in 2013 and was an all-district and all-region selection. Zach had an outstanding summer playing short stop for the Old Dominion Hitters travel program and can play any position in the infield.